The UK’s biggest collaborative trial of driverless and connected cars has been given the green light to move out onto city streets.

The £20 million UK Autodrive research and development consortium – jointly funded by Government and industry – was today marking its final private test track demonstrations at the HORIBA MIRA Proving Ground, at Higham on the Hill, near Hinckley.

Project partners Jaguar Land Rover, Ford and Tata Motors European Technical Centre were coming together to demonstrate connected car technologies before they are trialed on the roads of Milton Keynes and Coventry.

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Jaguar Land Rover was also set to present the latest version of its driverless vehicle technology.

The autonomous and connected technology being tested could go into production as early as 2019.

The idea is that driverless and connected cars will be safer and more efficient, free up drivers’ time and, by working together and anticipating things such as traffic light changes, ease inner city congestion.

Driverless Range Rovers being demonstrated at HORIBA MIRA Proving Ground, which can drive themselves, overtake and detect vehicles in their blind spot

Vehicle elements being developed include:

Emergency Vehicle Warnings where cars tell their drivers when an emergency vehicle is approaching and from which direction.

Intersection Collision Warning, improving safety on the approach to junctions.

In-Vehicle Signage where connected cars get traffic information sent from roadside units, telling them about things such as changes of speed limit or temporary lane closures.

Electronic Emergency Brake Light which alerts the driver when a vehicle in front suddenly brakes.

Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory which sends traffic light information to a car to help calculate the optimal speed for approaching lights – minimising the number of red light stops, improving traffic flow and reducing emission from idling vehicles.

He said: “The successful completion of the proving ground trials marks a significant milestone for the project team, and we are now looking forward to demonstrating the benefits of these exciting new technologies in the real-world settings of Milton Keynes and Coventry.

"Once the technology becomes widely available, we anticipate huge potential benefits in terms of road safety, improved traffic flow and general access to transport, so we’re really excited about being able to demonstrate this on real roads.”

The first public road trials are due to take place in Milton Keynes and Coventry by the end of this year, initially on segregated sections of roads, before evolving into open road trials and demonstrations as the project draws to a close in summer 2018.

A fleet of up to 40 self-driving pavement-based ‘pod’ vehicles, also developed in Leicestershire, will be introduced in pedestrianised sections of central Milton Keynes as a separate part of the project.

HORIBA MIRA is a £21 million a year turnover vehicle testing facility on a former airfield in the west of Leicestershire.